In a report released on Tuesday, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said by 2030, as many as 69 million children could die from “preventable causes” before the age of five if political leaders fail to address global inequality.
The report - State of the World’s Children 2016 - said children are affected “disproportionately” by violent conflicts, humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters, as well as health crises. Nearly half are from Africa. Angola tops the list worldwide with 157 of 1,000 children under five years old dying annually as of 2015. It is closely followed by Chad at 139 and Somalia at 137 child deaths for every 1,000 children. Additionally, 167 million children face poverty and 750 million could become child brides globally unless action is stepped up.
Today, about 124 million children do not go to primary and lower-secondary school. Two in five kids who do finish primary school have not learned how to read, write, or do simple math.
The report said investment in education is critical to cut the poverty and mortality rates.
